Velocity Academy gives at-risk Neenah students an avenue for change

Oct. 25, 2013

Investigator Mike Blank (center) teaches footprint gathering techniques to James Truett (from left), 14, Devyn Nackers, 14, and Alli VanPrice (right), 13, Wednesday at the Neenah Police Department. The students were visiting as part of Velocity Academy, a new Neenah Joint School District motivational program for at-risk students at Shattuck Middle School. / Dan Powers/Post-Crescent Media

Video

Watch students from Velocity Academy explore the Neenah Police Department at postcrescent.com.

Jen Zettel writes about education issues as part of Post-Crescent Media’s commitment to covering the successes and challenges of life in the Fox Cities. Share story ideas with her at 920-729-6622, ext. 33, or jzettel@postcrescent.com.

That changed this school year when the 13-year-old eighth-grader joined Velocity Academy, a project-based learning program at the middle school designed to engage students who have a difficult time in a regular classroom.

Teachers, counselors and administrators refer students to the program, said coordinator Kyle Popp. Following the referral, students must interview to get in.

“We’re looking for kids who want to make a change at school,” Popp said. “They haven’t had a lot of success, and even though they haven’t had a lot of success, they’re willing to put the work in, and they have hope for the future.”

Velocity Academy’s curriculum provides hands-on learning opportunities for seventh- and eighth-graders. The students also have more freedom to choose project topics, Popp said.

For the Everyday Heroes project, students were asked to interview a hero in their lives. Some picked family members. Others chose athletes or celebrities.

Several community members spoke to the class about their professions and what a hero means to them. Popp hopes the students realize people don’t have to be famous to be heroes.

“We think about heroes sometimes, and it becomes this huge term where you have to do something on a global spectrum,” Popp said. “We wanted them to think about who makes a difference in their school and in their community.”

Tranetzke chose her brother for the project. She admires how her sibling overcame challenges “to make something real great of his life,” she said.

Neenah Police officers were among those who made presentations to the students, and even went a step further, inviting them to the police station for a Junior Citizens Academy. The students saw how officers gather DNA, footprints and fingerprints. They also participated in a timed obstacle course, cheering on classmates.

Tranetzke said she didn’t realize how much police officers rely on teamwork.

“From what you see, it doesn’t look like they use teamwork at all, but when we were doing all these things everybody started working together,” she said. “We were all cheering each other on and we were all helping each other succeed in what we were doing.”

Velocity Academy students have become a team of their own, often working together on projects.

The overall atmosphere sparked change, not just in Tranetzke, but in her classmates as well.

“Everybody’s happy. You don’t see any kids refusing to do work — everybody wants to do the work,” Tranetzke said.